Women's Murder Club: 7th Heaven

Women's Murder Club: 7th Heaven

BY James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

The Women's Murder Club pursues two cases in an electrifying new thriller–chasing a deranged killer and searching for a murderer with a taste for fire.

A VERY PUBLIC DISAPPEARANCE

The teenage son of California's ex-governor, Michael Campion has mysteriously vanished. Known as the "Boy with a Broken Heart" because of his incurable heart defect, Michael grew up under the eye of an adoring public. The pressure on Detective Lindsay Boxer to find Michael is overwhelming. When she finally does get a lead, it's devastating...

A DEADLY RASH OF ARSONS

While working on the Campion case, Lindsay and her partner, Rich Conklin, also investigate terrifying fires that are destroying some of the most beautiful homes in San Francisco–and killing their owners in the flames. But when Lindsay invites her friends in the Women's Murder Club to help her uncover the arsonist, the blazes suddenly start to rage much too close to home.

A CHANCE AT 7TH HEAVEN

Now as these two intense, demanding cases bring Lindsay and Rich closer together than ever, Lindsay will find herself on the brink of an emotional meltdown. Full of the stunning twists and psychological surprises that only James Patterson can deliver, 7TH HEAVEN is an electrifying new thriller from "the man who can't miss" (TIME).

Prologue | THE CHRISTMAS SONG

Two

HENRY JABLONSKY'S STOMACH HEAVED. He gagged
against the thick wool of the sock, pulled against his restraints,
smelled the sour odor of urine. Heat puddled under his
clothes. Christ. He'd wet himself. But it didn't matter. The
only thing that mattered was to get out alive.

He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. But he could reason.

What could he do?

Jablonsky looked around from his place on the floor, took
in the fire poker only yards away. He fixed his vision on that
poker.

"Mrs. J.," Pidge called out to Peggy, shaking a small turquoise
box. "This is from Henry. A Peretti necklace. Very
nice. What? You have something to say?"

Pidge went over to Peggy Jablonsky and took the sock out
of her mouth.

The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as
the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings, the Hermès
tie, and the Jensen salad tongs, Jablonsky praying that they
would just take the stuff and leave. Then he heard Pidge
speak to Hawk, his voice more subdued than before, so that
Jablonsky had to strain to hear over the blood pounding in
his ears.

"Well? Guilty or not guilty?" Pidge asked.

Hawk's voice was thoughtful. "The J.'s are living well, and
if that's the best revenge . . ."

"You're kidding me, dude. That's totally bogus."

Pidge stepped over the pillowcase filled with the contents
of the Jablonskys' safe. He spread the Bradbury book open on
the lamp table with the span of his hand, then picked up a
pen and carefully printed on the title page.

Pidge read it back. "Sic erat in fatis, man. It is fated. Get
the kit- cat and let's go."

Henry Jablonsky's mind scrambled. What? What was happening?
And then he realized. He could speak! He screamed
"Pegg-yyyyy" as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright
yellow glare, then went up in a great exhalation of flame.

VOOOOOOM.

Heat rose and the skin on Henry Jablonsky's cheeks dried
like paper. Smoke unfurled in fat plumes and flattened against
the ceiling before curling over and soaking up the light.

"Don't leave us!"

He saw the flames climbing the curtains, heard his dear
love's muffled screams as the front door slammed shut.

Carolyn McCormick has appeared in the films A Simple Twist of Fate and Enemy Mine. She has appeared on television as Dr. Olivit on Law & Order, and as a guest on The Practice and Star Trek. Her Broadway credits include roles in The Dinner Party and Private Lives. She read 4th of July, The 5th Horseman, and 6th Target by James Patterson for Hachette Audio.